Japan Efficiency, Replace's Nuclear

Japan overcame Nuclear closures,
. . . by tapping the cheapest and most widely available source of energy:
. . . energy efficiency and conservation.

Much of the electricity savings were initially driven by,
. . . a popular movement known as "Setsuden" ("saving electricity").
. . . This movement emerged to encourage people and companies,
. . . to conserve energy and prevent rolling power cuts.
Simple measures such as increasing temperatures in homes and offices,
.. . "thinning" lighting by removing some of the bulbs and tubes,
. . . shutting down big screens and cutting exterior lighting,
. . . enabled Japan to dramatically reduce power demand almost overnight,
. . . (albeit at the cost of a small amount of personal comfort).

More surprising is how far off pundits were about the impact.
. . . Some made dire predictions about the need to replace the nuclear fleet
. . . with "cheap coal"
Coal power projects proposed in the wake of Fukushima,
. . . are still sitting on the drawing board,
. . . while solar power surged in 2013, blowing away earlier predictions.

2014-04-16 Source:  Japan Efficiency, replace's Nuclear